Dynamic duos— everyone knows them. It is one of the most popular dynamics in media. Different characters come to mind: maybe Batman and Robin or Bert and Ernie. Either way, it is a classic trope.
Bill & Ted are arguably one of the most famous dynamic duos.
Bill S. Preston Esquire and Ted “Theodore” Logan are two kind-hearted dimwits created by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon for a college improv class with no idea how hugely popular the characters would become.
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure was written and filmed in 1987. After a long battle with studios doubting the movie, it was released in 1989 under Orion Pictures (now Amazon’s MGM Studios) as a box office success.
Bill S. Preston Esquire is played by the charming Alex Winter, and Ted “Theodore” Logan is played by a young Keanu Reeves, and they are both played and written perfectly. Dumb enough to be funny but not a drag, and so incredibly kind that you have no choice but to be endeared to them.
The movie opens, and you see a distant future as George Carlin’s Rufus explains how everything is better in the future! The air and water are clean, world peace has been established, and bowling scores are way up. However, fun fact, bowling is later retconned in the animated series to be illegal in the future. He then introduces us to the band that changed everything, Wyld Stallyns, and we see the boys recording themselves in Bill’s garage.
To keep them from failing a history assignment, which would lead to the band never happening, they travel throughout history and pick up a group of historical figures, including Abraham Lincoln, Sigmund Freud, and Joan of Arc.
The movie’s dynamic is an interesting one, a unique departure from the classic goofball/straight-man trope, instead, being goofball/goofball. In fact, there was more to the backstory, and the duo was originally a trio— Bill, Ted, and Bob, played by an unknown classmate of Matheson and Solomon. Bob originally played the role of the straight-man of the group, the foil to Bill and Ted’s goofy antics, but was dropped soon after they realized that the act worked better as a duo.
Having two goofball characters tends to make the three movies in the series, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989), Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991), and Bill & Ted Face The Music (2020), feel much more lighthearted than many other buddy comedies. It also helps that the duo manages to avoid an all-too-common trope: miscommunication that leads to a fight, or a dramatic “break-up” scene of sorts. The two of them never seem to argue, the movies always emphasize how perfectly compatible the characters are and how much they care for and understand each other. They manage to both be incredibly similar but are also distinct enough that they have easily identifiable individual personalities.
The movies thrive on this kind-hearted energy. Neither Bill nor Ted seem to have a negative bone in their bodies and welcome everyone with open arms and big smiles. It has helped the movies age almost perfectly, which is a fear about a lot of 80’s films. In most of them, there is one scene (or more, I’m looking at you 16 Candles) that ages the movie terribly. As a warning, there is one scene where Bill and Ted are mildly homophobic, but the scene is widely understood as mostly inoffensive and of its time. Also, there is a scene where Billy the Kid shoots (presumably) a bullet at a light in a school building, with no consequences. Certainly strange to see now.
Unfortunately, like many other 80’s movies, no matter how big a hit they were, unless they were Dirty Dancing, Ferris Bueler’s Day Off, or The Breakfast Club, they seem to be forgotten. However, even though most younger people may think that they have not heard of Bill & Ted before, but they have almost certainly heard something related. In 2021 and 2022, a soundbite from one of the Bill & Ted cartoons, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventures, gained popularity on TikTok. The sound was a conversation between Bill and Ted, where Ted asks “What color is an orange?” and Bill responds, “Ted, you bonehead, its color is the same as its name. Like a lemon.” The clip has become instantly recognizable, even if people do not know the origin.
Genuinely kind comedies are a rarity nowadays, and these may be the best examples. Whether you are a fan of comedies, sci-fi, or time travel, the movie is going to have something for everyone. Even if you have not heard the titles or the clip, the movies are worth checking out, and always make sure to remember to be excellent to each other.
